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Royal Italian Army
This article is about the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito) which participated in World War II. The Italian Royal Army was reformed in 1861 and lasted until 1946. The Royal Army started with the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and the formation of the Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia). It ended with the dissolution of the monarchy. The Royal Army was preceded by the individual armies of the various independent Italian states and was followed by the Italian Army (Esercito Italiano) of the Italian Republic(Repubblica Italiana). Organization The Italian Army of World War II was a "Royal" army. The nominal Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Royal Army was His Majesty King Vittorio Emanuele III. As Commander-in-Chief of all Italian armed forces, Vittorio Emanuele also commanded the Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) and the Royal Navy (Regia Marina). However, in reality, most of the King's military responsibilities were assumed by the Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. Below Mussolini was the Supreme Command (Comando Supremo). The Supreme Command featured an organic staff which functioned through its defense ministries and through its various high commands. The defense ministries were based on function and included a Ministry of War, a Ministry of the Admiralty, and a Ministry of the Air. The high commands were based on geographic regions and included Army Group West, Army Group Albania, Army Group East Africa, Army Group Aegean, and Army Group Libya. Below the Army Group were armies. Armies were typically composed of two or more corps, along with separate units directly commanded at the army level. The corps were then typically composed of two or more divisions, along with separate units directly commanded at the corps level. The division was the basic formation of the Italian Royal Army. On 10 June 1940, the army had 59 infantry divisions, three National Security Volunteer Militia (Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, or MVSN) divisions, five high mountain (alpini) divisions, three mobile (celere) divisions, two motorized divisions, and three armored divisions. In addition, there were estimated to be the equivalent of about nine divisions of frontier guard troops. There were also numerous colonial formations at or near the division level composed of troops from Italian Libya and Italian East Africa. Impressive on paper, most Italian divisions did not have the full complement of men or materials when war was declared in 1940. The armored divisions had lightly armed "tankettes" instead of tanks. Impressive on paper, most Italian divisions did not have the full complement of men or materials when war was declared in 1940. The armored divisions had lightly armed "tankettes" instead of tanks. Binary infantry division After a reorganization in 1938, Italian infantry division was known as "binary" division (divisione binaria). This is because Italian infantry divisions were based on two regiments instead of the three that prevailed prior to the reorganization. By comparison, German divisions had three infantry regiments. In addition to the two infantry regiments, the Italian infantry division included an artillery regiment, a mortar battalion, an engineer battalion, and a pack gun company. The division also had some division-level services and could have a division-level reserve infantry battalion. The typical infantry regiment was composed of three rifle battalions. However, some regiments had as many as five battalions. By design, each regiment had 24 heavy machine guns, 108 light machine guns, 6 81 mm mortars (Mortaio da 81/14 Modello 35), 54 45 mm mortars (Brixia Model 35), and 4 65mm Infantry Guns (Cannone da 65/17). The divisional artillery regiment typically had 36 field pieces by design. There was a horsedrawn battery of 12 100 mm howitzers, a horsedrawn battery of twelve 75 mm guns AND a pack horse mounted battery of 12 75 mm howitzers. In addition to the field pieces, there was a mechanized troop of eight 20 mm anti-aircraft guns.2 Much Italian artillery was obsolete and far too reliant on horse transport. The mortar battalion typically had 18 81 mm mortars and the pack gun company had 8 47 mm anti-tank guns. From 1 March 1940, an MVSN Legion of two battalions was attached to most infantry divisions. This was to increase the manpower available to each division and also to include Fascist troops. Alpini division The personnel for the mountain (Alpini) divisions was drawn from Italy's mountainous Alpine region and tended to be of superior quality. In addition to being well trained for mountain warfare, they were expert in the handling of pack artillery. The mountain divisions differed from a standard infantry division in that each regiment had its own artillery, engineering, and ancillary services associated with the regiment on a permanent basis. This made each regiment of a mountain division relatively self-supporting and capable of independent action. By design, a mountain division consisted of a divisional headquarters, two mountain infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a mixed engineer battalion, a chemical warfare company, two reserve mountain infantry battalions, and divisional services. The divisional headquarters included an anti-tank platoon. Each mountain infantry regiment included its own headquarters company, with a platoon of flamethrowers. Each regiment also included three mountain infantry battalions and regimental services. At full strength, the firepower for a mountain infantry regiment was 27 heavy machine guns, 81 light machine guns, 27 45 mm mortars, 12 81 mm mortars, and 27 flamethrowers. The artillery regiment was split between the two infantry regiments. Each regiment was provided with a battalion of 75 mm howitzers. All were transported on pack animals. Armoured division At the beginning of the war, the armoured divisions were filled with L3 tankettes and, as a result, were incapable of providing the armoured spearhead that the German tank (panzer) formations could. Initially, a total of about 100 "medium" M11 tankswere available. But, while these vehicles were an improvement over the L3s, they were still more like "light" tanks. In addition, they were poorly designed (main armament in a "fixed" position), far too few, too under-gunned, too thinly armoured, too slow, and too unreliable to make a difference. By design, an armoured division included one tank regiment, one artillery regiment, one highly-mobile infantry (Bersaglieri) regiment, a divisional support and a mixed engineer company. The tank regiment could have between three and five tank battalions. At full strength, each battalion had 55 tanks. Once sufficient numbers of the M13/40 tanks and its upgrades were available, Italian armored divisions began to possess some offensive capability. The Italians also developed several self-propelled 75 mm guns on the M13 platform when the evolution in tank artillery made the 47mm gun obsolete. Like the German 88 mm gun, the Italians learned that a 75 mm anti-aircraft gun (Cannone da 75/46 C.A. modello 34) or a 90 mm anti-aircraft gun (Cannone da 90/53) made effective anti-tankguns. While always in short supply, 57 of the 90 mm guns were ordered to be mounted on heavy trucks (Autocannoni da 90/53) to enhance mobility. 48 guns were mounted on a M14/41 tank chassis as Tank Destroyer 90/53 (Semovente 90/53). Libyan division In 1940, Italy had two divisions in Italian North Africa composed of troops native to Libya commanded by Italian officers. In many ways the Libyan divisions followed the make-up of a standard binary infantry division. Each Libyan division had two colonial infantry regiments. Each infantry regiment had three infantry battalion and a Guns company (4 65/17 mm I-Guns ). The Libyan divisions also had an integral colonial artillery regiment and colonial engineering battalion. A typical Libyan division fielded 7,400 men (including 900 Italians). The artillery regiment by design included 24 77 mm guns. The "Maletti Group" (Raggruppamento Maletti) was an ad hoc unit composed of Libyan troops transported in trucks and was commanded by the unit's namesake, General Pietro Maletti. This partly motorized unit took part in the Italian invasion of Egypt in September 1940 and in the defense of the Nibeiwa Camp in December 1940 during Operation Compass. In addition to 2,500 Libyan troops in 6 battalions, the Maletti Group included a colonial artillery element and 2 coy of armor: 12 M11medium tanks and 14 L3 tankettes. "North Africa" division During 1942, attempts were made to increase both the firepower and the mechanization available at the divisional level. As a result, a new "North Africa 1942" (Africa settentrionale 1942, or A.S.42) type division was developed. Similar to a standard infantry division, an "A.S.42" type division still had two infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a mixed engineer battalion, a medical section, and a supply section. But the infantry regiments could vary greatly because the basic units making up the regiment were now an expandable company. The artillery regiment sometimes included a battery of German 88 mm guns. Mobility was increased and, in theory, an "A.S.42" type division was mechanized to a higher degree than standard infantry divisions. Unfortunately, in practice, few units had the full complement of motor vehicles. Italian motor vehicles, while in short supply, tended to be of better than average quality. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery made use of a captured Italian vehicle. Motorised division The motorized divisions were similar to the "North Africa" type division, but they included a regiment of highly-mobile elite riflemen (Bersaglieri). The Bersaglieri actually appear to have actually received the motorcycles and trucks they were allocated. Motor-transportable division From the beginning of the war, some infantry divisions were theoretically fully mechanized and were designated as motor-transportable divisions. Again, in practice, few units had the full complement of motor vehicles. Other than being transported by motor vehicle, these divisions were organized like a standard infantry division, with two exceptions. Motor-transportable divisions had a larger complement of mortars and they did not have a MVSN Legion. In 1942, the motor-transportable divisions in North Africa were upgraded to become "North African" type motorised divisions. In spite of the upgrade, these divisions were still not fully motorized. The divisions tended to rely primarily on non-divisional sources for transportation and were, therefore, only part-time motor-transportable. Cavalry division Mobile (celere) divisions were cavalry divisions that had undergone a level of mechanization. Each division had two cavalry regiments, a highly-mobile infantry (Bersaglieri) regiment, an artillery regiment, and a light tank group.The squadrons of the cavalry regiments were horse-mounted and, other than a motorcycle company, the Bersaglieri were issued with bicycles. The light tank group had a total of 61 tanks. The tanks were typically L3s or L6s. Main Armaments During the first years of World War II, Italy had only small light and medium tanks (L3/35, L6/40, M11/39, M13/40, and M15/42) tanks. When Italy declared war in 1940, Italy's armored divisions were still composed of hundreds of L3 tankettes. These vehicles were hardly on par with the Allied tanks available in 1939 and were seriously out-classed by 1942. Better Italian tanks were produced but they were generally only available in limited numbers. Italian tanks typically suffered from poor main armaments and thin, bolted-on armour. It was not until summer of 1943 that the Italians developed a heavier tank (the P40). However, while the P40 was in the same class as the contemporary M4 Sherman, only five were ready for combat before Italy signed the armistice that same year. The Germans acquired and used the few P40s which were produced. To supplement the deficiencies of the main armaments on most tanks, the Italian Army made use of self-propelled guns like the Semovente 75/18 and the Semovente 75/34.The Italians also fielded some reliable armoured cars like the AB 41. While Semovente 75/18s were available in some numbers in North Africa, the more potent Semovente 75/34s, Semovente da 75/46s, Semovente 90/53s, Semovente 105/25s, and Semovente 149/40 were available in limited numbers or not at all prior to the armistice. Like the P40, the Germans acquired the few better quality self-propelled guns manufactured prior to the armistice and even continued to manufacture some after the armistice. The main infantry weapons were Carcano rifles, Beretta M1934 and M1935 pistols, Bodeo M1889 revolvers, Breda 30 light machine guns, Breda M37 and Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935 heavy machine guns, and Beretta Model 38 submachine guns. Second line units frequently made use of captured equipment such as Lebel Model 1886 rifles and, for colonial troops, Schwarzlose MG M.07/12s and Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 rifles, provided by Austria as war reparations after World War I. Category:Italy